Detroit Lions part ways with Offensive Coordinator John Morton

article

FOX 2 - The Detroit Lions are moving on from their offensive coordinator after one season.

The backstory:

The Lions posted that the franchise is "parting ways" with John Morton, on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday.

Morton had been hired to replace offensive guru Ben Johnson after the latter left to coach the Bears.

Speculation had swirled about his job security. Early on this season Morton was relieved of his play-calling duties by coach Dan Campbell after a few weeks of struggling by the offense.

Morton was said to still be involved in the offensive gameplay, with Morton adding that he was "intimately involved" in the passing game during a recent media availability press conference.

Campbell on Monday said he did not want to make any snap decisions in staffing, in speaking to the media.

"The first thing I've got to do, is figure out the staff," Campbell said. "You know, where do we go from here? I just need to either, I need to, you know, make sure that I feel good about where the guys are at, the positions they're in, or do we tweak a couple of things, move a couple guys."

Morton spent two seasons from 2023-24 with the Denver Broncos where he served as the passing game coordinator.

Hopes had been high for Morton, as the coach was part of Campbell's original coaching staff. He worked as the senior offensive assistant in 2022.

Earlier in the season Campbell had said if he is calling plays, he'll be taking away from somewhere else among his coaching duties.

Campbell was asked Monday if he planned to keep calling the offense.

"I'm open to anything," he said. "I don't know exactly where I'm at with that yet. I guess one of the good things if I did do that, you don't have to worry about somebody else leaving.

"You know, you don't have to worry about your play caller leaving. So that would be one of the perks of it. But, but I'm, listen, I'm going to think through all of that."

Morton has more than 20 years of coaching experience in the NFL and is a Rochester native. He is also an alum of Western Michigan, where he was a standout wide receiver.

Stay with FOX 2 for more information as it becomes available.